Tag Archives: student

Volunteer to Help Pay Student Loans

If you are like me, you paid a pretty penny for your college education. I however, decided to finance most of my education in the form of student loans (private and federal). It amounts to a great sum and I wonder how I am going to pay it off every day. Looking back, I know I would have been able to pay for college with cash and yet didn’t.

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I know it’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to pay of the majority of the loans but I am always looking for other avenues. Volunteering is one of those avenues. As you will see, there are plenty of ways to get your college education paid for by volunteering. As a bonus, you are doing good things to help around your community and the world. Here are some resources for paying off your student loans while volunteering:

AmeriCorps

Each year, AmeriCorps offers 75,000 opportunities for adults of all ages and backgrounds to serve through a network of partnerships with local and national nonprofit groups. You can volunteer in various areas such as education, business, housing, disaster relief, health, technology and more. You serve for 12 months and receive a living stipend up to $7,400. At the end of your service, you receive a $4,725 education award to be used toward your federal student loans or your tuition if you are currently in college. AmeriCorps is also the group that offers the VISTA program.

Personally, I looked around the site and found a few good positions that I would be interested in. There were several positions in financial education, foreclosures, and housing. Check it out because there is something there waiting for you!

Peace Corps

Peace Corps volunteers serve in 74 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, and the Middle East. Collaborating with local community members, Volunteers work in areas like education, youth outreach and community development, the environment, and information technology. The Peace Corps provides volunteers with a living allowance while they are serving. It enables them to live in a manner that is similar to where they are stationed. After completion of the program, the Peace Corps provides volunteers with a $6,000 payment to help with the transition back to a normal life.

While serving in the Peace Corps, volunteers are able to defer their federal student loans until they are finished with the program. If you have a Perkins loan, you will be eligible for a cancellation of 15% for each year you spend in the program. If you spend more than 2 years, you can have 20% of your loan cancelled in years 3 and 4. In all, you can have up to 70% of your Perkins loan cancelled.

Teach for America

Teach for America is an American non-profit that enlists America’s future leaders to help end education inequality. The program will place you in a low-income school in various locations around the country where you will teach students (you do not need an education degree). The great thing about the program is that you receive all of the same benefits as other professional teachers in the school district. In other words, you receive the same salary and health benefits as beginning teachers.

During your two years as a teacher, you can receive forbearance (they still pay the interest) of your student loans. Plus, at the end of each year you will receive a $4,725 education award that can be used to pay off federal student debt.

Military

The military offers many great education benefits while you are in the service or after you leave. With the active duty and verterans GI Bill, you can receive up to $1,075 per month for education and training. If you are in the reserves, you can receive a reduced benefit of up to $297 per month.

Charity for Debt

Charity for Debt offers a unique program in which you can volunteer your time with various non-profits in return for the payment of parts of your student loans. The program is still in the pilot stage and is currently only being offered in Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Washington DC. Basically, you volunteer your time at various sponsored non-profits and you receive anywhere from $15 to $20 per hour (tax-free) that is then used to pay your student loans.

Personally, I have signed up for this progam since I live in the DC metro area. I will keep you informed on how the process goes and if it even takes off.

Does anyone else know of any other ways to volunteer your time and have you student loans paid?

Teacher or Student? Great Time to Buy a Mac (Again)!

This is a repost from last year. Thankfully, Apple is running this promotion again this year.

Are you a student, teacher, or staff member of an education institution? Now is a great time to buy a Mac computer. Whether you want a laptop or desktop, not only do you get great educational pricing, you can get a free iPod touch ($229 value) between now and September 8th. This is such a great deal that I took part in last years deal. I didn’t really need an iPod touch but I figured someone else (on eBay) could. I bought a MacBook and took the $229 iPod to go with it. As soon as I received the iPod I immediately placed it on eBay and sold it for $199 a few days later. It’s like getting another $199 discount on the laptop! If you take all of those “discounts” into account, I got a $1299 MacBook (last year) for $1000 ($1199 education price minus $199 iPod sale). You can even get a free printer (up to $100) with the purchase!

I wasn’t really thinking about getting a new laptop at the time but my other computer was just acting possessed. It would turn on in the middle of the night for no reason! I would also be in the middle of typing a paper and it would say that it needs to shut down and then it just would. It was Windows Vista and I just couldn’t bear it anymore. I have always been a Windows guy and this new operating system just turned me off. So far I am rather happy with my Mac purchase (I have since went back to Windows because my finacee has a Mac).

Money Genie: I Grant You 3 Financial Do-Overs

Today is your lucky day! The personal finance genie has graced this site with his presence. What’s he doing here? Well, he has come to grant you 3 financial do-overs.

What Would You Change Financially If You Had the Chance?

The genie wants to know what financial decisions you would change if given the chance. Do you wish you began investing at 18? Do you wish you never set eyes on that guy giving away t-shirts in college if you signed up for a credit card? Here are my 3 wishes:

1. I wish I never saw a credit card in my life

I’ve never wanted to get too much into detail about our personal finances because some people who read this blog obviously know me. However, I will admit that I have made some bad decisions concerning credit cards over my lifetime. I received my first card at 18 and I could just feel the immense power that it had. That power caused me to feel financially invincible and it caused me much financial harm. Let’s just say that it will take me quite awhile to dig myself out of this financial hole that I have dug.

If this wish came true, I would live my life with MUCH less stress. As many of you know, debt puts a huge weight on your shoulders. You have to continually focus on the final outcome of being debt free. Having that vision helps you continue the battle and kill debt a lot faster. I cannot wait for that day to come!

2. I wish I fully funded my Roth IRA every year since I opened it 7 years ago

All I can say is that I started out on the right path. I opened a Roth IRA when I was 18 (actually, my uncle did it for me). However, over the years I completely neglected it and managed to only put around $1,500 into it. I know a lot of you will say that I lucked out because of the market collapse, but I do not see it that way. If I would have put the max in each year ($31,000 total) and invested it in an index fund (Vanguard Total Market),  I would only have around $27,000 in the account. Frankly, that sucks. However, that would be $26,000 more than I currently have in it and if I had done that every year, I imagine my credit card debt wouldn’t be as high.

3. I wish I would have paid my way through college and not taken on student debt

Looking back, I know I would have been able to pay my way through college (undergraduate AND graduate). Yet what do I have to show for it? Many times the average debt of a typical college student. In plain english, I was stupid. I really have no idea where the money went that I earned while working during college. It could have easily went to my school and yet it didn’t. I just want to scream from the hilltops for being so dumb. Don’t get yourself in the same mess I did. PAY CASH FOR COLLEGE!

I really wish there was a money genie and he could take care of all my financial woes. Unfotunately, there isn’t and I will have to live with my decisions and learn from them.

What are your top three financial mistakes? Share them with us in the comments!

Do you have a blog? Share your financial do-over wishes with your readers! Link back to this article so we can have a collection of them all. Hopefully this can be a large resource for younger individuals (college students) on what NOT to do financially at a young age.

UPDATE:

The genie has been making his way around the blogosphere. Check out some of the places that he has been:

Mrs Micah

Suburban Dollar

Budgets are Sexy

Free Money Finance

Joe Taxpayer

Give Me Back My Five Bucks

Punch Debt In the Face

Fighting Foreclosure

My Financial Recovery

Weekly Roundup – May 3rd

Welcome to this weeks roundup! There were plenty of great articles this week and it was hard narrowing them down to some of my favorites. However, I did it and am very happy to share them with you.

On a side note, I wanted to mention that I have resurrected the Carnival of Money Stories. It is a weekly blog carnival where bloggers share their unique money stories/experiences. I am currently looking for hosts. It is a great way to get some recognition (and links) from other bloggers. If you do not want to host but would rather submit one of your articles, head over to the submission page.

Articles of the Week

My Life ROI give you 6 signs that the recession is ending. I hope #2 doesn’t end soon. We are shopping for our honeymoon!

Wealth Pilgrim has 7 steps to turn your college-bound kid into a financial genius.

Pinyo at Moolanomy says that college students should take responsibility for their financial situation.

Miranda at Yielding Wealth recommends not using your 401(k) as a savings account. I second that!

Matt at Stupid Cents has a great tip on how to get discounts at eBay.

Is it better to sell to an atheist or a virgin? Kevin at The Money Hawk lets you know the answer.

Baker at Man vs Debt compares Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey. Which one is right?

Hope you enjoyed this weeks great posts!

Weekly Roundup – March 29th

Welcome to this weeks roundup! There were plenty of great articles this week around the PF Blogosphere. Last week I posted infrequently and I apologize for that. I hope to get a full week of articles done today and you can expect to see my Q&A with Deena Katz (the top financial planner) on Wednesday. She has responded to my questions and I am excited for you all to read it. Anyway, enjoy these great reads!

Great Reads

Ben at Trees Full of Money witnessed a credit card fiasco at a Target checkout counter. Needless to say, this article really made me angry for some reason. You can see my response in the comments of his post.

Trent at The Simple Dollar thinks that most time management is rubbish. Head over there to see the ten things that work best for him.

Pinyo at Moolanomy has some extra income ideas for college students and recent graduates. I especially like the one on selling class notes. I wish I would have thought of that when I was in school!

Pete at Bible Money Matters wants to know if you are emotionally invested in your credit card.

Frugal Dad talks about the new Discover card for teens that creates bad habits.

I hope you enjoyed these great posts! I look forward to your comments this week!

The Average Net Worth of Americans: Where Do You Stand?

I absolutely love using the calculators at CNNMoney.com. There are so many cool ones that I use frequently. They have one for housing prices, cost of living comparison, retirement needs, saving for college, etc. I actually just stumbled across one for the average net worth of Americans. All you have to do is enter in your age and current salary and it give you two charts. The first chart shows you the average net worth of individuals in your age group. The second chart shows you the average net worth of individuals in your income range. I’m not sure how helpful the second one would be since it compares the salary against any age. If I am making $50,000 as a 22 year old, of course someone making $50,000 as a 50 year old will have a larger net worth than me (I hope they do). Anyway, here are the averages for different age groups:

Under 25

$1,475

25-34

$8,525

35-44

$51,575

45-54

$98,350

55-64

$180,125

65 and Over

$232,000

Where do you stack up against these numbers? Personally, we are no where near the average for our age group. I mean we are not even in the same zip code. I imagine that has to do with the fact that we both used a lot of student debt to earn our degrees and we own no real estate.

Do you think these numbers reflect the recent turmoil in the stock market? The calculator did not have  a certain date on it (i.e. “this chart is based on the 2000 census”). However, I hope that it takes into account the recent decline. The net worth of individuals should be much higher than these averages. You should strive to be much higher than these averages.